Rebels lose to Valley in semis

DENVER — The fact Gina Clemens has one more chance at a state title didn’t matter to her through the tears.

What mattered most to Clemens, a 5-foot-9 middle blocker/outside hitter for the Weld Central Rebels, was she wouldn’t ever get to play again with senior teammates Kelsey Hoff, Kristin Bell, Mahalia Marcotte, Becky Klausner and Cassie Green. The Rebels (21-11) lost their pool-play match to No. 1 Colorado Springs Christian 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, and then lost in the semifinals 18-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-21 to the No. 2 Valley Vikings at the Class 3A Volleyball State Tournament on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.

“This is very tough because I know these girls aren’t coming back,” said Clemens, a junior who had 11 kills, eight digs and seven blocks in the semifinals against Valley. “When you played with them all your life, it’s really hard to watch them go.”

Clemens, who carries a 3.8 gpa, is humble about how she stepped up this season.

“I just try to do it for other people,” said Clemens, who lives in Keenesburg. “If I can make a difference and be an asset to the team, I’ll do anything that I can.”

Clemens will play club volleyball for NORCO in Fort Collins in the off-season, and then try to lead the Rebels to another state tournament berth.

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“We’re coming back to state next year,” Clemens said. “We’re going to get some unfinished business done.”

Rebels coach Tia Self said Clemens is a coachable girl.

“She’s definitely going to be a leader on the team next year,” Self said.

Clemens, who said she’s thinking about studying journalism when she gets to college, seems ready to take on that leadership role next season.

“I’m going to work real hard to motivate the other girls,” Clemens said. “Volleyball is my life. I play doubles volleyball in the summer, club and high school.”

In a Rebels season filled with so many injuries that you needed a calculator to count them, the Rebels were able to make it to the semifinals.

“So many people played for other people through their injuries and through their pain,” said Clemens, who started playing volleyball in the fifth grade.

MOVING ON: Self coached her last match for the Rebels at the state tournament. The former University of Northern Colorado standout, who led the Rebels to a state title in her rookie season in 2002, said she’s leaving the high school game to try and pursue a college coaching job.

“I’m going to start looking for a college job, and try and be an assistant somewhere,” said Self, who teaches physical education at Weld Central. “It’s time for me to move up in my career. This was a great group of girls.”

SLOW START: The Rebels started out fast against the Vikings, but Self said they lost their pass in the second game which allowed the Vikings to get back into the match.

“If we have our pass, we can beat anybody,” Self said. “If we don’t, then we’re just like everybody else.”

“They just took it to us. Their offense was a lot quicker than ours, and we weren’t ready for them,” Vikings coach Rene Aafedt said of the first game. “They were ready for us that first game.”

Self said it was Valley’s turn to shine this season.

“They’re an awesome team. They put in time and effort year after year,” Self said. “They came out the first of the year and dominated, and they’ve been doing it ever since.”

HUGE DAY: Rebels middle blocker Kristin Bell, who will play college volleyball at Division II Fort Hays (Kansas) State University, had a big day against Colorado Springs Christian and Valley, the two top-ranked teams in the tournament.

Bell had 24 kills and 12 blocks against the Lions and 18 kills and five blocks against the Vikings.

ENDING ON GOOD NOTE: Platte Valley didn’t defend its state title, but it did end up winning its final match of the season in a 25-14, 25-15, 25-23 victory over the Pagosa Springs Pirates in 3A pool play.

“We went out with a good feeling,” Broncos coach Jared Rudiger said. “We are a great program with a little touch of tradition.”

“People said we were rebuilding this year, but we made it to the big show,” Rudiger said. “Our program will learn from this tournament both positively and negatively.”

SWITCHING SIDES: Former Eaton standout outside hitter Celeste Anderson, who played on the Reds squad that beat Platte Valley in the 3A state championship match in 2000, was a Broncos assistant coach this season.